Many of these different powers fought constantly, often at the same time, for long periods. They fought about both political and religious differences. Each empire wanted to be the most powerful and to control the most colonies and trade.

In Europe

The Spanish Empire slowly lost power, as it gradually lost territory to other empires. In 1648, Spain and many other powers signed the Peace of Westphalia, which ended both the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War. In 1659, the Treaty of the Pyrenees ended fighting between France and Spain. With these treaties, Spain began to lose its status as one of the world's greatest powers.

In 1713, Felipe V signed the Peace of Utrecht. In this treaty, Spain gave up its territories in Italy and The Netherlands. Spain was no longer Europe's greatest power. However, it would still have an important role in European politics.

Overseas

However, during this time, Spain kept its large overseas empire, and even made it larger. The Spanish Empire fought with the British Empire, which was trying to take over more of America; the French Empire; and the Dutch in the New World. Spain remained a major economic power until it lost its colonies in the Americas through revolutions.

Decolonization

Spain kept control of two colonies in its empire in America: Cuba and Puerto Rico. It also held onto the Philippines and some preserved islands in Oceania, including the Carolinas (including the Palau Islands) and the Marianas (including Guam). However, when Spain lost the Spanish-American War of 1898, it lost almost all of these last territories. Spain kept control only of the small islands of Oceania (not including Guam). Spain sold these islands to Germany in 1899 .

Definition

The Spanish Empire generally means Spain's overseas colonies in the Americas, the Pacific, and elsewhere. But it is not clear what is exactly part of the Spanish Empire. For instance, traditionally, territiories such as the Low Countries or Spanish Netherlands were included as they were part of the possessions of the King of Spain, governed by Spanish officials and defended by Spanish troops. But the British historian Henry Kamen writes that these territories were never part of a "Spanish" state and instead formed part of the wider Habsburg estate. Therefore, many historians use both "Habsburg" and "Spanish" when they speak of the empire of Charles V or Philip II. However, the Low Countries were effectively part of Spain during that period.

Portugal was occupied by Spanish forces and was ruled by the same monarch in "personal union", but Portugal remained a separate state. The Portuguese empire continued to be ruled from Lisbon during this period. Therefore, there was a joint Spanish-Portuguese rule for some time. These jointly run empires have sometimes been called the Spanish-Portuguese Empire, but they were not parts of one state.

By the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494, the globe was divided into two hemispheres between Spain and Portugal. Therefore, Spain had the right to start colonies in all of the New World from Alaska to Cape Horn (except Brazil), as well as Asia. The Castilian Empire was the result of a period of rapid colonial expansion into the New World, as well as the Philippines and colonies in Africa: Melilla was captured by Castile in 1497 and Oran in 1509.

Map of the dominion of the Habsburgs following the abdication of Charles V (1556), as depicted in The Cambridge Modern History Atlas (1912); Habsburg lands are shaded green. From 1556 the lands in a line from the Netherlands, through to the east of France, to the south of Italy and the islands were retained by the Spanish Habsburgs.

The celebrations following the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis (1559) between Spain and France

Otto van Veen: The Relief of Leiden (1574) after the Dutch had broken their dykes in the Eighty Years' War